Firefox crashes - Troubleshoot, prevent and get help fixing crashes

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A crash is what happens when Firefox closes or quits unexpectedly. After a crash, you should see the Mozilla Crash Reporter appear. This article will help you fix crashes and show you how to get more help if you're having difficulties.

Update your software

The crash you're experiencing may have already been fixed in a new version!

Update Firefox

Every Firefox release includes a number of fixes for crashes that people have reported. Making sure you have the latest version may fix your crash. See Update Firefox to the latest version for details.

Update your plugins

Check that you have the latest versions of all your plugins.

Go to our Plugin Check page and follow the links to update any plugins that are out of date.

Update Windows

Make sure you have all of the latest security and stability fixes.

Go to the Start menu, select All Programs and then Windows Update.

Update OS X

Make sure you have all of the latest security and stability fixes.

Go to the Apple menu and select Software Update…

Update Linux

Make sure you have all of the latest security and stability fixes.

Go to the System menu, down to Administration and select Update Manager.

Check to see if the crash happens in safe mode

If updating software didn't work or if Firefox crashes on startup, use the steps below to test whether the crash happens in Firefox Safe Mode or not and then follow the instructions in the recommended articles.

Note:

The Reset Firefox feature can fix many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your essential information. Consider using it before going through a lengthy troubleshooting process.

The Refresh Firefox feature can fix many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your essential information. Consider using it before going through a lengthy troubleshooting process.

At the top of the Firefox window, click the Firefox button, go over to the Help menuOn the menu bar, click the Help menuAt the top of the Firefox window, click the Help menu and select Restart with Add-ons Disabled.... Firefox will start up with the Firefox Safe Mode dialog.

Note: You can also start Firefox in Safe Mode by holding down the shift key while starting Firefox.holding down the option key while starting Firefox.quitting Firefox and then going to your Terminal and running: firefox -safe-modeYou may need to specify the Firefox installation path (e.g. /usr/lib/firefox)

Click the menu button
, click help
and select Restart with Add-ons Disabled.... Firefox will start up with the Firefox Safe Mode dialog.

Note: You can also start Firefox in Safe Mode by holding down the shift key while starting Firefox.holding down the option key while starting Firefox.quitting Firefox and then going to your Terminal and running: firefox -safe-modeYou may need to specify the Firefox installation path (e.g. /usr/lib/firefox)

The crash still happens in Safe Mode

If your crash still happens in Safe Mode, it is not being caused by an extension, theme or hardware acceleration. See if the Firefox Hot topics section includes a solution and, if it doesn't, try to get help with your crash ID.

The crash doesn't happen in Safe Mode

If your crash doesn't happen in Safe Mode, it is most likely because of an extension, theme or hardware acceleration.

Check your hardware

Check your RAM for errors

If Firefox crashes repeatedly, check your RAM for errors using for instance the following tool, Memtest86+Rember.

Get help fixing this crash

Figuring out the cause of a crash can be difficult. If you've tried the steps above and can't get Firefox to stop crashing, the steps below will show you how to collect information about your crash so our volunteers can help you.

Right-clickHold down the Ctrl key while you click
on the latest crash under Report ID and choose Open Link in New Tab. A tab will open to a page on crash-stats.mozilla.com, saying that "Your report is being processed". When it is finished processing, close the report tab.

If you can't open Firefox because it crashes at startup even in Safe Mode:

Click the Windows Start button, and select Run…press + R. Type in "%APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Crash Reports\submitted" (including the quotation marks) and click OK.(OS X 10.6 or previous) Click the Finder icon in the dock. Your home folder will be selected. In the right side of the window, click the Library folder to open it. Then open the "Application Support" folder, the "Firefox" folder, the "Crash Reports" folder and finally the "submitted" folder.(OS X 10.7 or above) Click the Finder icon in the dock. On the menu bar, click the Go menu, hold down the option or alt key and select Library. A window will open containing your Library folder. Then open the "Application Support" folder, the "Firefox" folder, the "Crash Reports" folder and finally the "submitted" folder.Go to ~/.mozilla/firefox/Crash Reports/submitted.

In the resulting folder will be a text file for each crash report you have submitted. Using the View menu, arrange them by date to find out which is the newest file; and double-click on it to open it.

Fill out the Details section of the next page with as much information you have about the crash. Include any of the steps you completed above, like updating Firefox or testing for the crash in safe mode.

Copy the long Report ID number you've got above for the latest crash (looks like bp-…) and paste it into the "Details" section.